Telemundo, Univision push back on MRC report

4/1/14 4:29 PM EDT

Both Telemundo and Univision are pushing back against a study released Monday by a conservative-leaning organization that said the two networks show a markedly liberal stance in their evening news programs.

The report by the Media Research Center's new Latino-focused group MRC Latino, found that from November through February, Noticiero Univision and Noticiero Telemundo focused most of their domestic U.S. policy stories on immigration and the new health care law, and featured liberal or left-leaning guests and viewpoints more often than conservatives.

Telemundo spokesperson Camilo Pino said the program offers objective information.

"Noticias Telemundo stands for accuracy, fairness and independence, while we strive to meet the highest ethical standards in the industry. We are devoted to our audience of U.S. Hispanics and strive to offer them the most reliable and objective information on the subjects that matter the most to them," Pino said in a statement. "The journalistic principles that rule our work ensure that our news coverage is transparent, impartial and factual."

As for the political affiliation of the people and groups interviewed or cited, MRC said conservatives should work harder at outreach and getting themselves on these shows, while also faulting networks for not featuring more conservative voices.

But Gabriela Domenzain, a principal at The Raben Group and former Director of Hispanic Media for Obama's 2012 campaign, said that when she worked at both Univision and Telemundo conservative guests often didn't want to appear on the network even when invited.

"I can tell you in no uncertain terms that the predominant reason why Republicans and conservatives are not seen more or cited more on Spanish-language news outlets is their own refusal to comment or be interviewed by the networks and publications that Hispanics read and watch the most," Domenzain said.

"When pressed on why they don’t bring this to light, (national publications) will respond with what most journalists would say: they fear that going on the offense and brining their futile attempts to interview republicans to light, will only damage the slim-to-none possibility they may have in actually landing an interview," Domenzain said. "Unfortunately this drowns out the reasonable conservative voices that would benefit the Republican party in terms of courting the Hispanic vote and also makes it very hard to get critical information to Hispanics on what the Republican positions are, how they may help, or hurt them."

Univision spokesperson Jose Zamora said Univision is commited to providing access to all points of view.

"We have an open invitation to elected officials and representatives from all sides to address our community on issues of importance and relevance,” he said.

Zamora also specifically pushed back against the study's issue with how the network covered the Affordable Care Act. MRC Latino took particular issue with both Univision and Telemundo’s participation in encouraging Obamacare sign-ups, especially a joint a town hall the networks held last month featuring President Barack Obama.

"Hispanics are one of the largest uninsured demographics in the U.S. It is for that same reason, that Hispanics are one of the segments of the U.S. population that can benefit the most from the ACA," Zamora said in an email on Monday night. "When we report and inform on the ACA, as with any of the other issues that matter most to our audience, we are only focused on providing a public service to the Hispanic community, not a service to the Administration, conservatives, liberals or moderates."

"When you reach 96 percent of Hispanic households and 72 percent of your audience is unduplicated, your responsibility is to ensure your viewers have all the information they need to make informed decisions, regardless of their political views and affiliations," he added.

Univision's support of the Affordable Care Act is no secret. As BuzzFeed's Kate Nocera reported last week, the network has embarked on a company-wide initiative "to get Latinos signed up on the exchanges, working through newscasts, special programming, advertising partnerships, and a dedicated health care website."

The study is part of the launch of MRC’s new Spanish-language media watch group, MRC Latino, which officially launched on Tuesday. MRC President Brent Bozell said in an interview on Monday they hope the study and MRC Latino will lead to more conservative voices in Spanish-language media and that they plan to meet with executives at the two networks to discuss the study. Neither Univision nor Telemundo commented on whether their executives will meet with MRC.